Your Cover Letter: How To Stand Out Among The Masses

Your resume provides a hiring manager with your qualifications and experience, but your cover letter is what makes the first impression. When a pile of resumes comes in, many with similar qualifications, it’s important that your introduction – your cover letter – stands out among the rest. Use these tips to help grab the hiring manager’s attention with your cover letter to help land the interview.

Make it tailored.

Your cover letter should be completely tailored for the position to which you’re applying. First, make sure you address the specific person at the hiring company. This may not always be easy to find, but it’s worth the extra effort to track down. Second, if you’re responding to a job posting, tailor your cover letter as closely as possible to the ad.

Be specific.

Do your due diligence in researching the company and position, and address it from the start. Yes, some parts of your cover letter may stay the same from one application to the next. But, the hiring manager wants to know you’re interested in a role specifically at that company, not just a generic position in the field.

Demonstrate your benefit to the company.

Your achievements and skills are important, but don’t leave it up to the hiring manager to connect the dots. Make the connection between your successes and what you can do to directly benefit the company. If this is potentially your next dream job, don’t just focus on why you want it, but why you are the ideal candidate for the role.

Be personable.

While your resume should be relatively buttoned-up, professional and following standard expectations, your cover letter is the place to let your personality come through. Your cover letter should still be professional, of course, but you have the opportunity to speak directly to the hiring manager in your own unique tone of voice.

Proofread.

Take the time to thoroughly check your spelling and grammar, or if that’s not your strong suit, consider asking a friend for assistance. Even just one or a couple grammatical errors will ensure your cover letter gets noticed – but not in a good way. Make sure to check and then double check before sending.

Visit the ISG Career Center to upload a resume, create a job profile and view current opportunities.